I wonder Comrade Ostrovsky what more important is for Germany and for the rest of Western Europe, American sponsored NGOs or Russia’s gas and Russia’s market. The Economist likes out of the blue to aggravate political situation. Especially with Germany taking into account trade turnover between Russia and Germany, there’s nothing to be sad about for Frau Merkel as far as NGOs are concerned. She’d better worry for EU satellites that are in deep… sorry big trouble now, practically insolvent milking Germany. Hope that the rights say of Cypriots are observed. The “New Law” that Comrade Ostrovsky is speaking about is not that new, it’s even obsolete since it’s been exactly copied from 1938 American Law on NGOs which are sponsored by third countries as foreign agents. The Economist lagged behind in its criticism and has a poor memory. According to the American law the NGOs have to report on their activities to CIA. I think we missed that point in Russia. Should be included. No worries TE guys except for you nobody is going to make a fuss. Ostrovsky is talking wonders, “money being the dominant ideology in Russia”. I wonder what a dominant ideology is in the UK or Germany. Sounds funny when a comrade-capitalist Ostrovsky says that money is “a main motive”.
When comrade Ostrovsky talks about shale gas then he'd better go and interview people in America who live next to shale gas mines. They cannot drink water there, it’s all contaminated. Regarding relations between Russia and the State, I would call them business as usual. An American envoy is in Moscow with Obama’s message to continue the reset policy. Looks like Obama is not happy with Magnitsky list. TE ventilates an idea of some old cold war patrons intimidating western public with Russian threat. In this case I would say Ukraine is more of a threat to Europe than Russia. If Ukraine joins EU, we will see the end of it.

I detect a distinct whiff of Putin's paid propagandists in certain comments below. They do actually do this in fact, as anyone who follows Russian issues in the Western press comes to realise. It's all part of the huge Kremlin propaganda machine, which is so overpowering in Russia itself, but usually more discreet abroad.

LOL, it's always fun how the TE propaganda outlet Russia haters whine about the US Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA), Russia is on it's way to introduce.

The US FARA is such an inspiration for Russia. It teaches Russia how to expose US-paid agents using US-made laws. No wonder the TE propagandists are so whiny, HA HA HA, gasp, HO HO HO :D

Here is the comparison of what is going on in Russia relative to the US FARA for the uneducated TE propagandists who can not read and comprehend, heh, heh, heh :D

>>The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) is a United States law (22 U.S.C. § 611 et seq.) passed in 1938 requiring that agents representing the interests of foreign powers in a "political or quasi-political capacity" disclose their relationship with the foreign government and information about related activities and finances. The purpose is to facilitate "evaluation by the government and the American people of the statements and activities of such persons."

Russia law does the same - Russia is checking the persons involved in "political or quasi-political capacity" in Russia to "disclose their relationship with the foreign government and information about related activities and finances"

>>The law is administered by the FARA Registration Unit of the Counterespionage Section (CES) in the National Security Division (NSD) of the United States Department of Justice.[1]

Too bad Russia let the Tax Authority to investigate the foreign agents - Russia should had authorized the COUNTERESPIONAGE Section of FSB to investigate the activities of the foreign agents. much what the US is doing.

>>As of 2007 the Justice Department reported there were approximately 1,700 lobbyists representing more than 100 countries before Congress, the White House and the federal government.[2]"

Russia will post the names of the foreign agents in Russia soon enough too, but this is what drives the TE propaganda bonkers because all this HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS taxpayer money the west spent to bribe foreign agents in Russia in order to meddle and subvert the Russia politics went to the wind, HA HA HA :D

Lol at Russians thinking they're anywhere near as important to the US as they were 25 years ago... we don't really care, so long as you get and keep control of your nuke and small pox stockpiles. We're much more concerned about Asia and the Mid-East, where our consumer goods are manufactured, and a lot of oil (and "terrorists") comes from.

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the opening of the 2013 Hannover Messe, April 8, 2013. (RIA Novosti/Alexsey Druginyn)
Russia’s president allayed concerns of German officials and mass media, saying the new law on NGO activities - and mass audit to enforce it - only sought to introduce control over cash flow, not the political activities of foreign-sponsored groups.

“All our actions are connected not with the closures of these organizations, not with the ban, but with putting the cash flow under control,” Vladimir Putin said at a Monday press conference in Hannover. “The freedom of NGOs is not limited in any way, they just have to register.”

Putin recapped the main points of his Friday interview with the German broadcaster ARD and said that a great amount of resources was sent from abroad to affect Russia’s internal politics. He also again reminded that the sum of foreign aid to Russian-based political NGOs exceeded 28 billion rubles (over US$940 million) in just four months.

“This cannot be left without questions,” Putin noted.

He said that the equal amount of money could be used to solve the recent financial problems of Cyprus.

“They could have forwarded these significant sums to help Cyprus so that there was no need to rip off the poor bank clients,” Putin told reporters. He reminded the press that Russian authorities had ordered the restructuring of the 2.5-billion-euro Cypriot debt to Russia, thus making an input to the solution of the financial crisis.

The issue of mass audit of Russian NGOs is currently one of the most urgent questions in relations between Russia and Western countries. The Russian Justice Ministry, Prosecutor General’s Office and Tax Police began checks in various NGOs in late March and continue them to this moment.

Many civil groups claimed the inspections were a form of pressure, but the law enforcers said they were only bringing the situation into line with the recently-approved Law on Foreign Agents.

The law demands that any organization that receives funds from abroad is registered as a foreign agent. Law enforcers must hold random checks of the law’s proper application, and NGOs that fail to do so must be fined and even closed (in case of repetitive offence).

Supporters of the law have repeatedly claimed that its sole objective is to keep the Russian public informed of certain groups’ sources of funding, which could shed light on the true sidings and objectives of these groups.

The advocates, including President Putin, also point out that similar laws exist in other countries, like the US Foreign Agents Act that was introduced in 1938, but is still in force, and Russian-sponsored groups still receive letters from US counter-espionage services demanding full reports on their activities.

When Vladimir Putin spoke of the situation with the Russian Foreign Agents Law in his interview with ARD , he also noted a huge disproportion in the number of foreign NGOs in Russia and Russian NGOs abroad. He pointed out that there were 654 foreign-funded groups operating in Russia, while Russia sponsored only two foreign NGOs – one in France and one in the United States.

One more strange thing. I have read a statement of US department of state regarding the vexed "NGO law" question. I expected the US diplomats saying "there is nothing weird in the fact that we finance the russian NGOs who intend to upgrade the russian laws and procedures in a democratic sense" (indeed, if THIS is the goal, it's nothing weird at all), or even "The real intent of russian law is not to control the origins of the funds of the NGO, but to ban the NGOs per se" (normal skepticism on a foreign government's initiative) but there is something (else) weird, and it don't look good, in the real answer oof DOP: "we will continue to fund the NGO throw foreign platforms", or the like, that is, through third parts. In a nutshel, the DOP what to follow the funding whithout showing itself directly. If there is nothing weird in what the DOP intends to do by funding russian NGOs, why use a third flag? and if there is something weird (and the use of third flag is a bad clue), have the russians no right to oppose it (even if this can take the wole thing to a real ban of many NGOs)?
Or is the ban the REAL target of this move?

If that is all load of rubbish like you say, let us summarize information that showed up on this thread so far; and please before you comment, either carefully read everything or do not comment at all.

2)
"The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) is a United States law (22 U.S.C. § 611 et seq.) passed in 1938 requiring that agents representing the interests of foreign powers in a "political or quasi-political capacity" disclose their relationship with the foreign government and information about related activities and finances. The purpose is to facilitate "evaluation by the government and the American people of the statements and activities of such persons."

"The law is administered by the FARA Registration Unit of the Counterespionage Section (CES) in the National Security Division (NSD) of the United States Department of Justice."

"As of 2007 the Justice Department reported there were approximately 1,700 lobbyists representing more than 100 countries before Congress, the White House and the federal government"

3)
The interview with Putin that is at the bottom of this thread.

And I am sure, this is not the collection of three best evidences. But what I am sure is that they are enough, at least for a reasonable person. All you do is accuse people but you neglect what is undeniable. You intellectualize everything that goes against your argument because you care more for your ego than for the truth. After all, it is easier to be blinded with hatred or bitterness then it is to change an opinion.

And please, be respectful and try not to resort to ad personem argument. Put your emotions below your intellect...

NGOs - whether local as well as foreign should be transparent and declare its sources of its funding before starting their work in the country. This will allay the fear of Putin and others in similar situation.

I thought of the same interview when I listened to the audio, except that I read the interview in different media.

Don't be surprised if you get obnoxiously attacked very soon by "thinkers" who disagree with what Putin said and who disregard facts he brought up. I suspect that the conversation will go somewhere to medieval days of Russian Empire and Ivan Grozni so that certain commentators can draw connections that don't really exist. Do you really expect that people here watch/read non-mainstream media? TE is abusing its amazing reputation to dispense such incredibly narrow opinions. Some people will argue it is their freedom of speech (which it is), but an open-minded person free of mainstream touch will be left speechless. And when you call on TE for their propaganda, you get no answer :-)

An interesting interview. However, the reference to Putin's "background in Russia's Security Services" made me smile. In fact, Putin was an officer in the KGB (Russia's equivalent of the Gestapo).
The analysis failed to get to the fundamentals, an understanding of which is essential to grasp what makes people like Putin tick. The Russian Federation is not a country, it is an empire. Putin's main motivation -- his purpose in life -- is not just to hold the empire together, but to regain what it lost upon the breakup of the USSR. Belorussia is already in the bag. His next priority is the Baltic States.
Behaviour that seems irrational to Western democracies is perfectly rational to a Russian nazi, which is what Putin essentially is. Meanwhile, ordinary Russians suffer while "Putler" pursues his imperial fantasies.